JKPSC to Recruit 480 Doctors, Only 192 Posts Reserved for Open Merit | Kashmir Life

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir’s reservation policy has once again come under sharp scrutiny after the Health and Medical Education Department earmarked only 192 of the 480 Medical Officer posts for Open Merit candidates, triggering criticism from aspirants, medical bodies, and political leaders.

The Health and Medical Education Department has referred 480 Medical Officer posts of the Health and Family Welfare Department to the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission for direct recruitment. However, the category-wise breakup shows that less than half of these posts have been allocated to the Open Merit category.

According to the official distribution, 38 posts have been reserved for Scheduled Castes, 96 for Scheduled Tribes split equally between ST-1 and ST-2, 48 for Residents of Backward Areas, 39 for Other Backward Classes, 48 for Economically Weaker Sections, and 19 for candidates from the ALC and IB categories. This leaves 192 posts for Open Merit aspirants.

The limited number of Open Merit posts has reignited a broader debate over the reservation framework in the Union Territory, particularly in the context of healthcare services. Sahil Parray, a representative of a group advocating for Open Merit aspirants, said that nearly 70 per cent of Jammu and Kashmir’s population would now be competing for less than half of the available Medical Officer posts. Questioning the implications for healthcare delivery, he said that patients seek competence rather than category, arguing that the current structure undermines merit and poses a risk to the quality of medical care. He added that reservations were intended to address imbalance, not to create new forms of injustice, and called for restoring what he described as a fair share for Open Merit candidates.

Political reactions followed swiftly. PDP MLA Waheed Para, in a post on X, described the situation as a skewed equation where a majority of the population was left with a minority of opportunities. Similar concerns were raised by Dr Mohammad Momin Khan, vice-president of the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the All India Medical Students Association, who said that forcing around 70 per cent of the population to compete for only 192 posts amounted to discrimination rather than balance.

Equality, new syllabus: 60% people, 40% opportunities. pic.twitter.com/HfyUaWewp3

— Waheed Para (@parawahid) December 23, 2025

Reservations have become a major flashpoint in Jammu and Kashmir over the past five years, particularly after the central government expanded reserved categories and enhanced quotas following the Union Territory’s reorganisation. Ahead of the 2024 Assembly elections, the Lt. Governor administration introduced a revised reservation policy that increased the overall reserved quota beyond 60 per cent, substantially reducing the Open Merit share.

Under the current policy, Scheduled Castes have an 8 per cent quota, Scheduled Tribes 20 per cent, Economically Weaker Sections 10 per cent, Residents of Backward Areas 10 per cent, Other Backward Classes 8 per cent, and ALC and IB categories 4 per cent. In addition, a 10 per cent horizontal reservation applies, including 6 per cent for ex-servicemen and 4 per cent for Persons with Disabilities.

Earlier this month, the Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet approved the report of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on reservation and forwarded it to Lt Governor Manoj Sinha for consideration. According to sources, the report recommends increasing the Open Merit quota by 10 per cent by reducing the EWS quota by 7 per cent and the RBA quota by 3 per cent.

However, the proposal is yet to receive clearance from the Lt Governor. Meanwhile, all major political parties except the BJP have voiced concern over the existing reservation policy and have called for a more balanced approach, arguing that the current framework disproportionately affects Open Merit aspirants and has wider implications for governance and public services, particularly in critical sectors such as healthcare.